


Regression

by AerithFaremis



Category: Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: ClerithWeek2020, F/M, Hollow - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:21:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26319355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AerithFaremis/pseuds/AerithFaremis
Summary: A strong wish driven by an unforgettable love can lead to change the world and get a chance.[Clerith Week 2020 - Day 7 - Prompt: Hollow]
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife
Comments: 4
Kudos: 27





	Regression

**CLERITH WEEK DAY 7 (09/6)**

**_Prompt:_ ** **Hollow**

**-Regression-**

“Yes, that’s fine. I already have the address. I’ll be there in a few days for delivery. Thank you”.

Cloud Strife hung up the phone and then pressed the button to disconnect it, with a long sigh. Another day, his schedule had been extended until after eleven o’clock at night and the stiffness in his neck was hitting him hard. He remembered that those pains were non-existent a few years ago, but now that he was 44, they were much more noticeable. Besides, he had to admit that office work was not what he was best at. He liked to ride his bike, deliver packages and wander around while feeling the cool breeze brushing against his face. But, someone would have to take care of the administrative part of Strife’s Delivery Service.

He picked up the office, threw away some unnecessary documents and turned off the lights, locking the door. He started the bike and left, heading for Sector 5.

He had been living there for several years, after the Geostigma on his body disappeared. He had managed to rent a small apartment near the Leaf House and the truth was it was a quiet and pleasant place. The neighbors were elderly people or families with children who had taken him in very well, even though he didn’t usually talk to them much, not because he didn’t really want to, but because he hardly spent much time there because of work. But he was happy like that.

After a few minutes, he came home. He left the keys on the sideboard and took off his shoes, rubbing his tired eyes. After taking a shower that helped relieve some of his muscle aches, he quickly went into the room to greet her, as he did every day.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and took the picture of the night table, caressing it with his hands, with a sweet smile on his face. His eyes, which normally had a fierce look, softened too, melting before her.

From the paper, her beautiful smiling face, which always healed every wound, made all his day-to-day worries vanish like dust into thin air. She was beautiful, with those green eyes with long eyelashes.

“Hey” he said “it’s been a long day, you know? In a few days, I’ll have to go to Junon to deliver a few packages. You know Junon is not one of my favorite places, but…at least I’ll be able to take a ride with the bike. But, tomorrow I have the day off to go to take care of your flowers at the church. By the way, last night I met Ms. Folia’s daughter, she told me that her mother still remembers you a lot. I don’t blame her, it’s impossible to forget you”, whispered Cloud, with a little laugh.

He continued to stroke the picture, running his fingers down her paper cheeks and across her forehead.

“Oh, you know what? Denzel is going back to Midgar for the summer vacations and has told me that he would like to spend time here at home. The truth is…I’ve been very happy. It’s been a while since I’ve talked to him, you know, he’s very busy with college and I’m busy with work. But…I’m excited that he’s here and that he’s remembered me. After all…we’ve always gotten along well.”

He remained silent for a few moments before continuing, observing her. After a while, he sighed and mumbled:

“Good night, Aerith”.

He laid down on his back in bed with his eyes fixed on the ceiling and, as every night before going to sleep, he repeated the wish he had been longing to fulfill for twenty – three years: to see her again. To touch her again, to hear her voice and her laughter. To stop going on howling and feeling hollow.

He always asked himself the same question. Had he realized, had he thought it through, would she be here in his embrace? Everything had been unfair to them, it had all happened too fast and the light of his life had faded, leaving a void that was too intense for years.

_I would give so much, so much to go back in time and have a new chance…_ he wished, as he fell asleep.

He began to wander through the world of dreams, feeling a bit lost, drifting along. That was a different dream from other nights. It was as if he was falling into a dark void, time after time, not knowing very well where he was going, as if in a whirlwind.

And then, on his knees, his body felt bloody and bruised. It was a strange feeling, but his whole body hurt, as if he had just fought an intense battle that he did not remember exactly. All around him, there was only a heavy darkness and no matter how much he blinked and forced his eyes, he could not see anything. He was broken up. He could feel a cry begging for mercy tearing him from the center of his soul, a silent scream wondering if it was all a dream, if he will ever know. But the intense darkness that surrounded him only made him feel foolish and blind.

And suddenly, he saw _her_.

He knew it was her. It was her delicate hand, the same hand that he held back then, that cared for the flowers, that caressed his cheek and his hair. Shining brightly against all that darkness around him, guiding him as she always did, like every time he felt lost and she appeared, reaching out to him to heal every wound and make him whole.

He was speechless, as the Lifestream began to surround him from toe to head, releasing small particles of with and green light, illuminating that tunnel of darkness.

And he could see her smile, that smile that always hid something else, dark mysteries lurking beneath. She extended her hand so that he could reach her. Cloud seemed to remember having experienced something similar, but that time, he could not touch her. This time, however, he implored, from the depth of his heart and soul:

_Guide me to you. This time I will never let you go._

He wished with all his strength to stop feeling that emptiness, fill that void which was consuming him.

He also raised his hand and, this time, grabbed it.

There was then an explosion of lights, voices, words, thoughts. Cloud felt the memories of his life flashing before his eyes one by one, starting from the moment he took Aerith’s hand: a bleeding, disintegrating Sephiroth before his eyes.

The dark and sinister journey through the Northern Cave.

The fall of Shin – Ra, Hojo, Heidegger, Scarlett, Rufus.

The Weapons of the Planet.

The black materia and the North Crater.

The day he lost Aerith and buried his soul with her.

The labyrinthine Temple of the Ancients and the truth hidden inside Aerith’s tears.

Gold Saucer, the fireworks, the kisses and the caresses.

The magic of Cosmo Canyon and the sunny and warm Costa del Sol.

The escape of Midgar, the fall of the plate in Sector 7, Wall Market and that beautiful woman dressed in red.

The day he fell through the hole in the church and met Aerith among the flowers again.

Barret, Tifa, Yuffie, Vincent, Nanaki, Cid, Caith Sith, each and every one of them fading from his memory.

Reactor 1 and the train…the train…

Cloud Strife opened his eyes as he felt the cool breeze against his face, blowing his hair and eyelashes. He looked to both sides, but all he could see in front of him was a train he was squatting on and the rails it was riding on. How…how did he get there? The last thing he remembered was that he had gone to sleep…

The train stopped in its tracks. Then, he heard a strong, deep voice calling him from below:

“Get down here, merc!”

_Oh, right,_ thought Cloud _, the mission of the Reactor._ He launched himself from the heights and, without knowing why, he felt much more agile, young, but he put those thoughts out of his mind, not even a day had passed since he had gone to sleep, he said to himself.

He put his sword on his back and a soft, innocent voice in the back of his mind whispered to him:

_All is over, Cloud. I came back._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading! :D


End file.
